Grouping circuit



1T 19,1936. G. N. SAUL ET AL 2,041,090

GROUPING CIRCUITS Filed Dec. 29, 1954 7 Sheets-Sheet INVEN TORSI SAUL J. B. SH/EL A T TORNE V May" 19, 1936. G. N. SAUL ET AL GROUPING CIRCUITS Filed Dec 29, 1934. 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 .GIMSAUL Z J. B. .SH/ELv A T TORNEV y 19364 7 G. N. SAUL ET AL 2,041,090

. GNSAUL' Z "J. B.$H/EL ATTORNEY y 1936- G. N. SAUL ET AL 2,041,090

' GROUPING CIRCUITS Filed Dec. 29, 1954 7 Sheets-Sheet 4 EATTORNEV May V19, 1936. G. N. SAUL ET AL 2,041,090

GROUPING CfRCUITS Filed Dec. 29, 1934 7 sheets-sheet s TOLL P05.

- a. 5,401. S J. 8. 5/1/54 ATTORNEY G. N. SAUL ET AL K L GROUPING CIRCUITS Filed. Dec. 29, 1934 '7 Sheets-Sheet s TOLL P08 SAME AS FIG. 2

SAME 4s FIG. 3

SAME .45 FIG. 5

FIG. 6

TOLL P05.

SAME AS FIG. 2

SAME AS FIGS SAME AS FIG, 5

wvavroes: W.

J. 8 5mm A TTORNE Y G. N. SAUL ET AL j Y L GROUPING cmcums Filed Dec. 29, 1954 7 Sheets-Sheet "T TOLL P05.

SAME/4S FIG. 2

SAME AS FIGS SAME AS FIG 5 N. SAUL Patented May 19, 1936 UNITE STATES GROUPING CIRCUIT George N. Saul, Brooklyn, and John B. Shiel, Glen Head, N. Y., assignors to Bell Telephone Laboratories, Incorporated, New York, N. Y.-, a corporation of New York Application December 29, 1934, Serial No. 759,672

' 7 Claims.

This invention relates to telephone systems and more particularly to What are known as grouping arrangements for telephone switchboards whereby an operator whose telephone set is connected to one position may answer and complete calls at an adjacent unattended or vacant position by means of the cord circuits at that position without the necessity of manually disconnecting her telephone set from her home position and connecting it to the unattended position. An object of the invention is, therefore, to group unattended positions to an adjacent position at which an operator is stationed whereby the operators telephone set may be connected to any busy cord circuit of either position merely by actuating the usual cord circuit talking key associated with the busy cord.

A feature of the invention whereby the foregoing object is attained resides in switching means jointly controlled by a common grouping key and any talking key and sleeve relay of the unattended position, for automatically disconnecting the operators transmitter and receiver from her home position telephone circuit and connecting it to the telephone circuit of the unattendedposition whenever the grouping key is operated and a talk key associated with a busy cord at the vacant position is operated.

A second feature resides in switching means jointly controlled by a common grouping key and any talking key of the home position whereby when the grouping key is operated the opera.- tors telephone set is immediately disconnected from the telephone circuit of the home position and connected to the telephone circuit of the unattended position, irrespective of the operative condition of the talking key thereat, and discon nected from the unattended position and reconnected to its home telephone circuit whenever a talking key of a busy cord circuit at the home position is operated.

' A further feature related to the second feature resides in such an arrangeemnt of said switching means that the operation of a grouping key individual to another unattended position also adjacent the home position and the operation of a talkkey, associated with a busy cord at said other position, will disconnect the home operators telephone circuit from the first unattended adjacent position and connect it to the other unattended adjacent position.

Other features not specifically mentioned will be apparent from the following description and appended drawings when arranged as shown in Fig. 8, which illustrate, as one embodiment of the invention, a switchboard comprising four toll operators positions and a so-called D. S. A. (dial system A) position located at the left of, and adjacent to, the No. 1 toll position.

Fig. 1 shows an incoming toll line;

Fig. 2 shows a toll cord. circuit at the No. 1 toll position;

Fig. 3 shows the position circuit;

Fig. 5 shows the operators telephone and grouping circuit therefor;

Figs. 6 and 7 show other adjoining toll positions 2, 3 and 4 of the toll switchboard; and

Fig. 4 shows the operators circuit of what is called a D. S. A. position which is located adjacent to and at the left of the No. 1 toll position.

As. referred to in the foregoing objects of invention, it is desirable at certain periods such as at night, Sundays and holidays when the telephone traflic is light to reduce the number of operators.

on duty to the minimum number necessary to This obviously will quently the practice to so place the operators on,

duty that they are located at positions which are next to or adjoin unattended or vacant positions, for example, in a switchboard having six normally occupied positions, if it is desired to reduce the operating force during the night by fifty per cent, i. e., to cover the board with three operators, positions I, 3 and 5 can be covered andby proper switching means connect the position equipment of position 2 withthat of position I, position 4 with position 3 and position 6 with 5. By such an arrangement, the operators position I, for example, has as a part of her positionequipment double the usual number of cord circuits, thatis, in addition to the cord circuit forming a part of theposition'at which she is seated, she also is associated, ,by the switching or so-called grouping means, with the cord circuits of the adjacent or No. 2 position. Therefore, she can cover and complete calls at her own or home position inthe usual manner with the cord circuits of that position and in case calls are to be answered at No. 2 position she can reach over and use the cord obviating the necessity of the operator removing and. changingit over to the telephone .jackof the adjacent position when calls are to be answered in that position.

Heretofore, the grouping methods usually employed have consisted in disconnecting the position circuit of the vacant position from the operators telephone circuit of that position and in connecting it to the operators telephone circuit of the occupied position in multiple with the position circuit of that'position. Such an arrangement has certain disadvantages which the present invention overcomes.

In order to more clearly understand the foregoing, a description of the operation of the grouping scheme of our invention will now be given.

D. S. A. position grouped to first toll position It will first be assumed. that it is desired to vacate the D. S. A. position, Fig 4, and that the No. 1 toll operator, who it will be assumed is on duty, is to handle the calls at the vacated position in addition to her own.

When theD S. A. operator leaves the position, grouping key I is operated to a locking position which closes. an obviouscircuit to operate relay 2 in the D. S. A; position and the grouping relay 3 in the adjoining or first toll position. The joint operation of thesetwo. relays transfers the toll operators telephone set 4 from the induction coil 5 'of the toll position to the induction coil 6 of the D8. A. position. Further, the operators telephone jacks T and ii are disconnected from the .inductioncoil 6 by'the operation of relay 2.

Under theconditions above described the operators telephone 40f 'the toll position is normally disconnected from its own position and connected to thetelephonecircuit of the D. SJA. position and the-.toll.. operator.can talk on any cord circuit 9Lof..the D. S..A. position merely by operatingthe talk key I0 associated with the cord- If, however, a call is received on atoll line TL (Fig. 1) I appearing at the first toll operators position, the toll operator will answer the. call by inserting the rear or. answering plug II of the toll cord TC, at her own.position.(Fig. 2), into jack |2.and operatethetalk key I3 associated with the cord circuit. This causesoperation of relay I4in acircuitwhichcanbe traced from ground, contacts I5.of relay I6, (Fig. 3)

conductor I1, upper contacts .oftalk key I3 and the: left-hand winding of relay I4. to. battery. The operation of relay I4 extends.the sleevecircuit-of the callinglineandcord into the position resistance relay I9 but relay I8 operates and.

closes a'circuit to operate relay 23 which can be traced from ground, contacts 24 of relay I8,

back contacts of relays 25 and 26, contacts 21' of key and winding of relay 23 to battery.

Relay 23 in operating closes an obvious circuit to operate relay 29 which relay, in turn, closes at'its contact30a circuit to operate relay 3| in the D.S.A. position; Fig. 4. This circuit can be traced -overconductor 32. Relay 3| in operating opens. at its lower contact the original energizing circuitfortz'relays 2 and 3 whichnow release and-reconnect the toll operators telephone set to itsown position Whenthetalkrkey I3'.is:released relay, 3| releases and relays 2 and 3 again operate provided the grouping key I remains operated.

D. S. A. and second toll position grouped to first position It will now be assumed that in addition to vacating the D. S. A. position the second toll operators position is also to be vacated and therefore the grouping key 33 is operated in addition to grouping key I. Under this condition the normal set-up is the same as before described, i. e., the first toll operator is normally connected to the D. S. A. position but is released therefrom and reconnected to its own position induction coil by the operation of relay 3| when a talk key I3 in the toll position cord (Fig. 2) is operated.

Now, if a call is received on a line appearing at the second toll position, the first toll operator will reach over into the second position (to the I left of the broken vertical line aa' of Fig. 6) and plug the answering end of one of the cords of that position into the calling line and operate the talking key associated therewith which corresponds to talking key I3 of Fig. 2. Operation of the talk key in the second position causes relays in the cord and position circuit of that position to operate, which relays correspond to relays I4, I8, 23.and 29 as previously described thereby establishing a ground condition on conductor 34 which isextended over the closed contacts of grouping key 33 and conductor 35 to battery through the lower winding of relay 3| of the D. S. A. position (Fig. 4)

Relay 3| operates and by opening its lowermost contacts 36.releases relay 2'. Relay 3| in operating opens contact 31 thereby removing the ground supplied at the upper contacts of grouping key I, which has been holding the grouping relay 3. (Fig. 5). Relay 3 however does not release at this time due to the presence of ground on conductor 35' and therefore continues to hold grouping relay 3 operated. We now have the condition of relay 2 being released with grouping relay 3 operated and it will be observed that the operators telephone 4 of the first toll position is therefore disconnected from its own induction coil 5 and induction coil 6- of the D. S.A. position and connected over the operated contacts of grouping relay 3, the normal contacts of relay 2 and grouping relay 39 of the second toll position to the telephone circuit of that position, over conductors 40, 4|, 42 and 43. When the talk key is released at position 2 ground will be removed from conductors 34 and 35 and relay 3| will release thereby restoring the first position telephone to its connection to the D. S. A. position by the'reoperation of'relay 2.

In case the operator should inadvertently'operate a talk key in the second position when a talk key is already operated in the first position, the ground supplied over conductor 34 will reoperate relay 3. As relay 2' is already released due to the previous operation of relay 3| caused by operation of the talk key in thefirst position, we now have the condition of relay 2 released and relay 3 operated'which it will be noted establishes a connection of the operators telephone 4 with the second position to the exclusion of the first position.

From the foregoing it will be observed that operation of the grouping key I of the D. S. A. position groups that position to the first toll position and connects the first "toll operators telephone to the induction coil of the D. S. A. position but the operation of a talk key in the toll position disconnects the telephone set from the D. S. A. induction coil and connects it to the toll position induction coil regardless of the condition of any talk key in the D. S. A. position and that if the grouping key 33 in the second'toll position is operated, to group the second position to the first position, the operation of a talk key in the second position connects the operators telephone 4 of the first position to the second position regardless of the operation of any talk key in either the first toll position or the D. S. A. position It will be evident that the second toll position can be grouped to the first position by operation of grouping .key 33 when the D. S. A. position is occupied and the grouping key I is in its normal or unoperated position.

In like manner, if toll position 3 is unoccupied the calls incoming to that position can be handled by the operator in position 2 by operating group key 44 (Fig. 6). Under this condition, the insertion of; an answering plug at position 3 in a calling line and the operation of the associated talk key, which corresponds to talk key [3 of Fig. 2, causes a ground to be placed on the ground lead 45 of position 3 which, in turn causes grouping relay 39 in position 2 to operate. Relay 39 inioperating disconnects the operators set 46 from its own position circuit and connects it over contacts 41, 48, 49 and 50 to the position circuit of position 3. Release of the talk key in position 3 removes ground from conductor 45 and grouping relay 39 releases and restores the operators set 46 to its normal connection with its own position circuit.

Similarly, position 4 if unoccupied can be handled by an operator sitting at position 3 by operation of grouping key 5|.

Two-way grouping Our invention also permits, if desired, what is termed two-way grouping, that is, grouping two positions infeither directions, for example, position 4 to position 3, or position 3 to position 4. To accomplish this it is only necessary to arrange the circuitjas shown in Figs. 6 and 7 and provide an additional grouping key 52 which group positions 3 to position 4. When this key (52) is operated, the" insertion of an answering plug and operation or the associated talk key in position 3 will connect ground to conductor 45 as before but a circuit now extends to battery over contacts of key .52 and conductor 53 through grouping relay 154 of position 4 causing this relay to operate and disconnect the operators telephone 55 of position 4 from its own position circuit and connect it" to the position circuit of position 3.

From the iforegoing it will be noted that by the circuit arrangement of this invention, an automatic transfer of the operators telephone at the occupied position from that position to the adjacent vacant position is effected whenever a talk key in thlgvacant position is actuated to answer a call, which accomplishes the same result as though the operator were to remove the plug of her telephone set from the jack at the position at which 'she is seated and reach over and plug into the telephone jack of the adjacent position each time that she answered a call in that position.

This arrangement differs as hereinbefore mentioned, from previous arrangements in which the position circuit of the vacant position is permanently connected, during the grouping period,

with corresponding circuit element of the occupied position. I

What is claimed is:

1. In a telephone grouping system, first, second and third operators positions of one characteristic, each comprising an operators induction coil, a position of a different characteristic also comprising an operators induction coil, an operators telephone set at the first position normally connected to its respective induction coil, grouping means in the first position to selectively transfer the connection of said telephone set from its associated induction coil either to the second position or to the position having a different characteristic, a grouping key adapted to cause operation of said grouping means to effect the transfer of said telephone set to the position having a diflerent characteristic, a talk key at the first position, means operated responsive to actuation of said talk key to release said grouping means and restore said telephone set to its normal connection, a grouping key and a talk key at the second position, means responsive to actuation of the talk key at the second position eiTective when the grouping key at said second position is operated to cause the grouping means in the first position to transfer the telephone set of the first position into connection with the induction coil of the second position, a telephone set at the second position normally connected to its respective induction coil, grouping means at the second position adapted when operated to transfer the telephone set thereat into connection with the induction coil of the third position, a grouping key and a talk key at the third position, and means responsive to actuation of the third position talk key when the third position grouping key is operated to operate the grouping means at the second position to transfer the second position telephone set into connection with the induction coil of the third position.

2. In a telephone grouping system, first and second operators positions, each position comprising an operators telephone circuit and an operators telephone set normally connected thereto, and manually controlled means for switching the operators telephone set at one position from its associated telephone circuit to the telephone circuit of the other position, said means being effective only when a talking key is operated at said other position.

3. In a telephone grouping system, first and second operators positions each position comprising a link circuit, an operators telephone circuit including a normally connected telephone set and a talk key for connecting the link circuit to the telephone circuit, grouping means in the first position for disconnecting the operators telephone set thereat from its normally connected telephone circuit and for connecting said telephone set with the telephone circuit of the second position, a grouping key at the second position adapted when operated to partially establish an operating circuit for said grouping means, and means responsive to operation of the talk key at the second position when said grouping key is operated to complete the partially prepared circuit for the grouping means and cause its operation.

4. In a telephone grouping system, first and second operators positions, an operators telephone set at the first position and normally connected thereto, grouping means at the first position for disconnecting the operators set therefrom and connecting it to the second position,

a grouping key individual to the second position for partially closing an operating circuit for the grouping means, and means operated in response to actuation of atalk key at the second position while said grouping key is operated to complete the operating circuit of the grouping means.

5. In a telephone grouping system, first and second operators positions, an operators telephone set at each position and normally con-- nected thereto, grouping means at each position for disconnecting the operators telephone set thereat and connecting it to the other position, a grouping key for each position for partially closing an operating circuit for the grouping means at the other position, and means operated in response to actuation of a talk key at either position while the associated grouping key is operated to complete the operating circuit of the grouping means at the other position.

6. In a telephone grouping arrangement, first and second operators positions each position comprising an operators telephone circuit, an operators telephone set at the first position normally connected to its associated telephone circuit, grouping means at the first position for transferring the connection of said telephone set from its associated telephone circuit to the telephone circuit of the second position, a group- 7 ing key adapted to cause operation of said grouping means and effect said transfer, a talk key at said first position, and. means operated responsive to actuation of the talk key to release said grouping means.

7. The method of grouping two operators positions whereby an operator sitting at one position is able to operate an adjacent position in conjunction with her home position without manually transferring her telephone set back and forth between the positions, which consists in automatically disconnecting the operators telephone set at the home position from its associated telephone circuit and connecting it to the telephone circuit of the adjacent position under control of any listening key at the adjacent position.

GEORGE N. SAUL. JOHN B. SHIEL. 

